Site Mobile Navigation

Santorum Seeks to Broaden His Appeal Beyond Evangelicals

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Emboldened by evidence that his sudden burst in the polls was building, Rick Santorum came to this conservative corner of rural Iowa on Sunday to try to cement his status as the anti-Mitt Romney candidate, and he urged his supporters to redouble their efforts as the caucuses approached.

“This is an election that is going to be very close. I’m very appreciative of what I see, that our support is rallying and rising here,” he told a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 people who packed into a coffee shop downtown to hear him speak. “But there’s two more days. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

With one of the better organized supporter networks in Iowa, Mr. Santorum has emerged as a top contender to unite the crucial, yet fractured, evangelical Christian vote. But to peel votes away from Mr. Romney, he is seeking to broaden his appeal to conservatives whose primary concerns are the economy and national security. He must convince them that he is an electable and formidable competitor to President Obama.

He implored his supporters on Sunday to employ all means possible — placing a Santorum yard sign on their lawns, wearing Santorum stickers on their jackets and having heart-to-heart talks with friends — to help push him over the top.

“This is your chance, heartland of America, to speak out,” he said. “We need you to sign up and go to the caucus. Be an advocate for us. Get out there and speak on our behalf.”

Even as a new poll from The Des Moines Register showed he was closing in on Mr. Romney, Mr. Santorum was confronting some stark realities that his underdog campaign cannot ignore. His campaign lacks the resources to fight a drawn-out battle for the nomination. He is already under assault from rivals like Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. And victory in Iowa would be hollow if he were to suddenly flame out in New Hampshire and South Carolina, which will hold their primaries this month.

He has tried to counter the perception that he is just the latest Republican alternative to Mr. Romney to build a large following on a foundation of sand. At campaign rallies over the weekend, he pointed to a sizable campaign operation in New Hampshire, where he has said he will begin advertising on television. “You go to our office in Bradford, and I guarantee you there are a lot of people there,” he told a crowd in Indianola on Saturday. And he often mentions his frequent trips to South Carolina, where his campaign believes his message of strong family values and the need for a muscular military presence will resonate.

Photo

Rick Santorum in Sioux City, Iowa, during an early stop in a busy day of campaigning. “I'm very appreciative of what I see,” he said. “But there's two more days. There's a lot of work to be done.”Credit
Josh Haner/The New York Times

His fund-raising is on the rise, but at the current levels will not be enough to push back should he become the target of the kind of brutally negative advertising campaigns South Carolina is known for. He has pulled in more than $250,000 online in recent days, exceeding a campaign goal, but a meager amount by the standards of modern campaigns.

Mr. Santorum’s stop in Sioux City was his first campaign rally on a busy New Year’s Day of campaigning — both on the stump and in the news media. He appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, gaining the kind of national television exposure that has eluded him for months as he languished at single digits in the polls.

He became emotional at times during his remarks at the Daily Grind, a coffee shop a few blocks from the Missouri River, especially when he spoke of the meaning his campaign had to his family. Criticizing President Obama for “absolutely un-American activities,” he said he was running to ensure he left the country in better shape for his children.

“This is the most important election of my life. This is where America’s freedom is at stake,” he said. “I’m asking you to stand up for your honor.”

His listeners greeted him with a hearty round of applause. And as he made his way through the crowd, stopping to shake hands and sign autographs, he wore a beaming smile on his face.

As Iowa conservatives continued their process of candidate elimination over the weekend, some spoke of being drawn to Mr. Santorum not for his social conservatism — he is already an admired figure among those who are opposed to abortion rights and same-sex marriage — but for his stands on fiscal and national security issues. Support from such voters was a sign that those who are wary about voting for Mr. Romney may be breaking for Mr. Santorum.

Mark Leonard, an active Republican and a self-described “all-around conservative fellow” who runs an agriculture and commercial loans business in nearby Holstein, said he had only recently decided to support Mr. Santorum. “I believe he has the deepest understanding of what the president can and should do,” he said, noting that Mr. Santorum avoided what he considered to be hyperbole and unrealistic campaign promises.

“One candidate says he’d cut $1 trillion from the budget. A president can’t do that,” Mr. Leonard said. “Another candidate says he’d have a part-time Congress. That’s silly. A president can’t do that, either. And Santorum doesn’t make crazy statements like that.”

A version of this article appears in print on January 2, 2012, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: Santorum’s Challenge: Broaden His Appeal Beyond Evangelical Christians. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe